MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

R121 Million Splurge by City Power Electrification Project

ActionSA Joburg Mayoral Candidate, Herman Mashaba, conducted an oversight of the electrification project at Shalazile Informal Settlement in Denver. He was joined by ActionSA Joburg Caucus Leader, Cllr Marcel Coutriers, and MMC Candidates Cllr Mpumi Edward, Zandile Dabula and Bongani Mabizela.

 

The settlement was established as a temporary shelter for survivors of the August 2023 Usindiso Building fire that claimed the lives of 70 people in the inner city.

The objective of the oversight visit was to establish the facts regarding allegations that City Power paid a contractor R121 million for work that is valued at R11 million. It is reported that City Power tried to conceal this exorbitant over-expenditure after writing it off.

Furthermore, the Auditor-General admonished the city’s entity for its increasing trend on unauthorised, irregular and wasteful expenditure for the 2024/25 financial year.

The oversight reveals deplorable living conditions of 278 families who have been neglected by the ANC administration. There is no adequate stormwater drainage system in place, and an Apartheid-style bucket toilet system is provided instead of installing dignified sanitation.

Residents took the Mayoral Candidate into confidence, stating that they endure daily power cuts despite the completion of the electrification project. The City has continued with its failure to deliver basic services by installing solar panels in 2025 that don’t work to date. Frustrated residents shared that forty people have died under violent circumstances, highlighting the urgent need for effective law enforcement.

It is clear that the ANC and its coalition partners do not have an interest to improve the living conditions of residents who have survived the misfortune of losing their homes.

ActionSA has maintained that public sector corruption persists due to an embedded culture of poor consequence management. This flagrant disregard for public funds should not be tolerated under any circumstance.

This is why ActionSA takes this opportunity to remind residents to use their right to vote wisely at the Local Government Elections on 4 November 2026. A vote for ActionSA in Joburg will arrest the decline of the city and accelerate service delivery for residents, regardless of their postcode.

ActionSA Education: Advocates for specialized skills training and artisan schools.

Source – MyZA

Free Johannesburg Press Release Submissions from MyPR.co.za

Category:

The Oriental Plaza: A Phoenix in Fordsburg

If Johannesburg is a city of forced displacements, the Oriental Plaza is its most resilient response. While the Rand Club was built for the elite and Ponte for the “jet-set,” the Oriental Plaza was born from the trauma of the Group Areas Act—a piece of Apartheid legislation designed to geographically separate the races. Yet, in true Johannesburg fashion, what was intended as a tool of containment and financial ruin for the Indian community transformed into one of the most vibrant, independent commercial powerhouses in the country.

The story of the Plaza begins with the destruction of Pageview, affectionately known as Fietas. In the mid-20th century, Fietas was a legendary multicultural hub, centered around the bustling 14th Street. It was the city’s premier destination for textiles, clothing, and spices, where shoppers of all races would rub shoulders in a “jazzy, soulful” atmosphere. However, because Fietas was located so close to the white-only city center, the Apartheid government declared it a “white area” in 1962. The community fought back for decades, but by the 1970s, the bulldozers arrived. Homes were leveled, and the thriving traders of 14th Street were forcibly relocated to a purpose-built, modernist complex a kilometer away in Fordsburg: the Oriental Plaza.

The government’s intent was cynical: by moving the traders into a controlled environment with high state-mandated rents and strict rules on what could be sold, they hoped to break the back of Indian commercial dominance. The early years were devastating; many businesses folded, and the “Grand Bazaar” felt like a sterile warehouse compared to the street-level energy of Fietas. However, the traders refused to vanish. They eventually won the right to purchase their own shops, making the Oriental Plaza unique among South African malls because it is owned by the shopkeepers themselves rather than a corporate landlord. This ownership model changed everything. Without the burden of massive monthly mall rentals, the 360+ independent stores can offer prices that national retailers cannot touch, turning the Plaza into a “bargain-hunter’s paradise” that draws millions of visitors a year.